Semiconductor packages which have encapsulant-rich areas have a tendency to warp due to shrinkage of the encapsulant. After encapsulation, the inner encapsulant material is often hotter than the material on the surface of the package. This results in contraction of the hotter material which pulls the surface toward it, causing deformation, and often in the form of package warpage. Contraction of the material resultant warpage induces high internal stress. Thin integrated circuit packages are especially susceptible to warping after the encapsulation/molding process. This is particularly true for thin surface mount packages. Warped surface mount packages are rejected since the warpage causes some of the leads to deflect from the mounting plane of the leads causing uneven lead planarity.